Richard walked slowly into the quiet hospital room where Maya was sitting up in the comfortable bed.
A small white bandage covered her forehead, but her big brown eyes lit up when he entered.
Maya: Daddy! You came back for me!
Richard hurried over to the bedside and wrapped his arm gently around his daughter's tiny shoulders.
Richard: I am right here sweetie, I will never leave your side again, I promise you.
Maya: Victoria was mean to me, Daddy. She squeezed my arm real hard because I wouldn't give her the papers.
Richard froze as he looked into his daughter's sincere, innocent eyes with a sudden cold focus.
Richard: What papers are you talking about, Maya? What did Victoria ask you to do?
Maya: She wanted the blue folder from your big desk, but I told her those were Daddy's work papers.
Richard: She tried to make you take documents out of my locked study cabinet?
Maya: Yes, and when I said no, she got angry and grabbed my toy and pulled me real hard.
Richard felt a surge of absolute clarity wash away every single trace of doubt in his mind.
Victoria had not just been negligent; she had been trying to access his private financial and legal estate files.
He remembered that the blue folder contained the original copies of his family trust fund and last will.
Victoria had been seeking to alter those documents to secure full financial control over his entire fortune.
When Maya refused to co-operate, Victoria had used physical force that led directly to the violent tumble.
Richard pulled his smartphone out of his jacket pocket and called his head security chief, Marcus.
Richard: Marcus, I need you to pull up the high-definition security footage from the hallway balustrade immediately.
Marcus: Right away, Mr. Vance. Is everything alright at the house?
Richard: Lock down the estate perimeter and secure all video archives from the interior entrance cameras now.
Marcus: I am accessing the server files now... Sir, I am looking at the footage from twenty minutes ago.
Richard: What does the video clip show, Marcus? Tell me clearly.
Marcus: The video clearly shows Mrs. Vance pulling the young girl forcefully toward the top landing before the fall.
Richard's jaw clenched as he stared out the hospital window toward the distant city skyline.
Richard: Save that camera file onto three separate encrypted drives and contact my family divorce attorney right now.